Fragile

[m_cobweb]

I remember once breaking
A vase, a clean ceramic snap
Easily repaired. Two sharp edges,
A line of glue,
An infinitesimal joining
Lost in the mottle of the glaze
Stronger, even, than the original firing.

Today he brings me a chalice
Broken at the stem
And thinks I can perform magic.
But this one is a softer clay
Sharded edges crumbled into the gaps,
Solidity powdered.
I can repair this, somewhat,
But it will never bear full weight.
It will be further damaged
With another fall.

So few things repair well.
If I could,
I would protect them all.
But the powder from my shards
Is gone, blown into the air
And dissipated.
The fractures remain.